New Member in Bath

Tony marshall

New Member
Greeting one and all! Just acquired P6 3500 FWW 409L, once owned by a club member, I believe. It is an MOT failure, requiring substantial chassis repairs, but otherwise in fair order. Advice on local chassis specialists would be really useful, as my experience is in polishing and selling only! Merry Christmas!
Tony Marshall
 
Hi Tony, A warm welcome to the forum :)
As far as I know in bath your nearest P6 specialist is probably Colin Gould in Faringdon.

Would be great to see some pictures of your new acquisition :)

Rich.
 
Try Paul.. he's in Bristol, and has been working on P6s for years.
 

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Thanks rockdemon and chrisw, looks like Paul in Bristol could be very handy for me. I will have a go at taking a few pics in the next few days and post them here.
I look forward to paying a visit to the Cross hands in January and getting some advice; unlikely to be in my car then, though, repairs are going to take some time!
 
Looks very nice. If you have any pictures of any grotty areas we may be able to advise a little!
 
Recorded mileage is 45k, possibly true according to MOT's going back to 1981 (36k) and showing many years of non use. Splits in the seams of both front seats seem a little harsh for such little use, but pedal rubbers look genuine. The boot is pretty tidy and the interior carpets not bad at all; haven't got down to the floors yet! Under bonnet is very average but not completely filthy and it has obviously been dry stored when not in Use. It belonged in the same family nearly all its life, apparently, but when I get the V5 I will get the history from the DVLA.
The last MOT, 2011, states severe chassis rot in all four corners close by but not directly affecting suspension components, and corroded break pipes fore and aft plus a couple of other bits.
So, next plan is a chat with Paul in Bristol. The car was fairly priced, I feel, and there is room to spend reasonable sums without going mad. My last restoration was a really rotten Jensen-Healey that was totally uneconomic, saved somewhat because it was the first one, but it still only achieved half of what was spent when I sold it!
Thanks for your interest, I'll keep posting.
 
The 4 corners of the sills are not that bad to do, certainly if they don't extend upwards like the D-post for example. Also regarding brake pipes, being a single line system, replacement is also not much of a problem. Leather seats have a tendency to dry out, just with the time passing by if not being fed regularly, so the split seams are not due to a hard use. It all sounds very reasonable and not at all a financial nightmare.
 
Recorded mileage is 45k, possibly true according to MOT's going back to 1981 (36k) and showing many years of non use. Splits in the seams of both front seats seem a little harsh for such little use, but pedal rubbers look genuine. The boot is pretty tidy and the interior carpets not bad at all; haven't got down to the floors yet! Under bonnet is very average but not completely filthy and it has obviously been dry stored when not in Use. It belonged in the same family nearly all its life, apparently, but when I get the V5 I will get the history from the DVLA.
The last MOT, 2011, states severe chassis rot in all four corners close by but not directly affecting suspension components, and corroded break pipes fore and aft plus a couple of other bits.
So, next plan is a chat with Paul in Bristol. The car was fairly priced, I feel, and there is room to spend reasonable sums without going mad. My last restoration was a really rotten Jensen-Healey that was totally uneconomic, saved somewhat because it was the first one, but it still only achieved half of what was spent when I sold it!
Thanks for your interest, I'll keep posting.

DVLA dont give out the history any more somewhat irritatingly.
 
Hi there Tony from Australia,
welcome to this mad house of help, interesting posts and information...
I see that your P6 is in excellent company of a land rover defender, if its yours, keep it forever, just love them......
Sold my series 1, 1952, this year and been kicking myself for being so reckless, but life moves on.
If you hear noises in the wee small-hours, its probably the 2 Rovers reminiscing about their adventures...:rolleyes:
Peter
 
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Peter, the white monster belongs to one of my boys and is only parked here for a few days, going today in fact. Great machine and he and daughter-in-law enjoy mud plugging regularly; in fact at the moment it has half of Salisbury Plain under the bonnet from is last exercise! I had given up classic car involvement in July when I sold the Jensen-Healey. Then something reminded of a trip I once made when the P6 V8 first came out, involving a Dodge Charger journey from Brussels to Antwerp, returning in the new Rover, and vowing to have one some day....!
The only likely noises will be the blasted tin worms, still chewing away until I slaughter them!
Happy New Year!
 
good luck with your project . it involves endless hours of labour .deep pockets . mountain of patience and a few choice words from time to time . the inboard rear brakes being well recognised as a source of bafflement and annoyance to many an owner. ( self included)
comment noted on the Landy. these are great machines though wouldn't want to try cruising at high speed in one for a length of time . these too have own well known bugs but are like our Rovers .loved and cherished ( well when working lol) I had ether pleasure of using my sons 110 landy ( van) now and then as its parked in our garden. he goes off road too ..can understand that a they are built for it. ( if you get chance try Solihull testing course at factory ..really impressive - especially the steep bits and the wading in a local stream) Ok buff said about those 'rovers' . our still give best ride and style on road. lets hope we see our still gang in years to come.
 
OK, D Day is Thursday 11th when she is handed over to Paul at Get Smart in Bristol for examination. One immediate requirement is sorting out the gear lever from which the knob has been removed, fallen off or whatever. Lever is still operational but I do not see how the knob should be secured. Further, there are no door mirrors and I shall need to get a pair; Tex make several variants, anybody got fixed ideas as to which type they should be?
Despite apparent good looks the car has obviously had a lot of remedial work, curious given its history of being in one family ownership for most of its life. Still, starts and runs well, which is a good start!
 
OK, D Day is Thursday 11th when she is handed over to Paul at Get Smart in Bristol for examination. One immediate requirement is sorting out the gear lever from which the knob has been removed, fallen off or whatever. Lever is still operational but I do not see how the knob should be secured. Further, there are no door mirrors and I shall need to get a pair; Tex make several variants, anybody got fixed ideas as to which type they should be?
Despite apparent good looks the car has obviously had a lot of remedial work, curious given its history of being in one family ownership for most of its life. Still, starts and runs well, which is a good start!

Hi Tony,
I too am looking for mirrors and found this site in England, just the style that suits our cars ...
https://www.vintagecarparts.co.uk/products/381-container-swing-back-mirror-tapered

Peter
 
Thanks, Peter. I have used texautomotive.com in the past, the original manufacturers. They have a very wide range and can supply straight or convex mirrors. It was not usual for car manufacturers to fit mirrors in production in the seventies, so maybe there is no such things as OE equipment??
 
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When considering mirrors, think about whether you have become accustomed to door-mounted mirrors on your daily drives.
Wing mounted mirrors were common in the 60s /70s, door mounted less so - everything I drove in that era had wing mounted..
My '67 TC has its original mirrors fitted to the front wings just above the wheel arches and I'm so accustomed to door mirrors that the view is disconcertingly 'different' when taking a quick glance - to the point where I've fitted a clip-on to the quarterlight frame.
John
 
I am very much a door mirror fan, with convex glass. Somewhere I have heard about metal thickness being critical on P6 cars but in any case talk with the very helpful man at Tex in Witney. Somehow I do not think the 'four cornered' mirror is right for the P6, but as it will be sometime before I am going to be 'on the road', I have plenty of time. I started selling cars in 1958 and I think door mirrors did not become really popular until well into the mid/late 60'. I sold one of the first P6 to a customer in Bletchley and clearly remember delivering it from Northampton and appreciating the superb ride and handling, even at running in speeds, afforded by the suspension. Taken a while to get one!
I have decided to ditch the sealed beam lights, one was knackered anyway, in favour of halogen. Am I going to run into current problems? While behind the front grille I have discovered just how carelessly the re-spray has been carried out, overspray everywhere! And a badly hidden repair to the nearside front wing alongside the side light, I suspect a common area for rot.
I have followed with interest the discussion about crud in sumps in low mileage cars and will take the appropriate action once the car is in a runnable state. We are fortunate here in having an excellent local garage who has looked after the last few classics I've owned very well. I haven't told them about this one yet!
Thanks Peter and John
 
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